DIVING

Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. The global governing body of diving is FINA. Most diving competitions consist of three disciplines: 1m and 3m springboards, and the platform. Competitive athletes are divided by gender, and often by age group. In platform events, competitors are allowed to perform their dives on either the five, seven and a half (generally just called seven) or ten meter towers. In major diving meets, including the Olympic Games and the World Championships, platform diving is from the 10 meter height.

Divers have to perform a set number of dives according to established requirements, including somersaults and twists. Divers are judged on whether and how well they completed all aspects of the dive, the conformance of their body to the requirements of the dive, and the amount of splash created by their entry to the water. A possible score out of ten is broken down into three points for the takeoff, three for the flight, and three for the entry, with one more available to give the judges flexibility.

The raw score is multiplied by a difficulty factor, derived from the number and combination of movements attempted. The diver with the highest total score after a sequence of dives is declared the winner.

Synchronised diving was adopted as an Olympic sport in 2000. Two divers form a team and perform dives simultaneously. The dives are usually identical; however, sometimes the dives may be opposites, in what is called a pinwheel. For example, one diver may perform a forward dive and the other an inward dive in the same position; or one may do a reverse and the other a back movement. In these events, the diving is judged both on the quality of execution and the synchronicity – in timing of take-off and entry, height and forward travel.

Scoring the dive

There are rules governing the scoring of a dive. Usually a score considers three elements of the dive: the approach, the flight, and the entry. The primary factors affecting the scoring are:

if a hand-stand is required, the length of time and quality of the hold

the height of the diver at the apex of the dive, with extra height resulting in a higher score

the distance of the diver from the diving apparatus throughout the dive (a diver must not be dangerously close, should not be too far away, but should ideally be within 2 feet (0.61 m) of the platform)

the properly defined body position of the diver according to the dive being performed, including pointed toes and feet touching at all times

the proper amounts of rotation and revolution upon completion of the dive and entry into the water

angle of entry – a diver should enter the water straight, without any angle. Many judges award divers for the amount of splash created by the diver on entry, with less splash resulting in a higher score.

To reduce the subjectivity of scoring in major meets, panels of five or seven judges are assembled. If five judges then the highest and lowest scores are discarded and the middle three are summed and multiplied by the DD (Degree of Difficulty—determined from a combination of the moves undertaken, in which position and from what height). In major international events, there are seven judges in which case the highest and lowest scores are again discarded and the middle five are summed, then ratioed by 3/5, and multiplied by the DD, so as to provide consistent comparison with 5-judge events. Accordingly, it is extremely difficult for one judge to manipulate scores.

There is a general misconception about scoring and judging. In serious meets, the absolute score is somewhat meaningless. It is the relative score, not the absolute score that wins meets. Accordingly, good judging implies consistent scoring across the dives. Specifically, if a judge consistently gives low scores for all divers, or consistently gives high scores for the same divers, the judging will yield fair relative results and will cause divers to place in the correct order. However, absolute scores have significance to the individual divers. Besides the obvious instances of setting records, absolute scores are also used for rankings and qualifications for higher level meets.

In synchronised diving events, there is a panel of seven or nine judges; two to mark the execution of one diver, two to mark the execution of the other, and the remaining three or five to judge the synchronisation. The execution judges are positioned two on each side of the pool, and they score the diver which is nearer to them.

The score is computed in the same way as for individual events with seven judges (i.e. highest and lowest deleted, then the sum of the remaining five reduced by 3/5, then multiplied by the Degree of Difficulty).

The synchronisation scores are based on:

time of take-off

height attained

synchronisation of rotations and twists

time of entry to the water

forward travel from the board

Diving positions

During the flight of the dive, one of four positions is assumed:

straight – with no bend at the knees or hips (the hardest of the three)

pike – with knees straight but a tight bend at the hips (the median in difficulty of the three.) The open pike is a variant where the arms are reached to the side, and the legs are brought straight out with a bend in the hips.

tuck – body folded up in a tight ball, hands holding the shins and toes pointed. (the easiest of the three)

free – indicates a twisting dive, and a combination of other positions. In the transition between two positions the diver may for example bend their legs or curve at the waist, and points will not be deducted for doing so.

These positions are referred to by the letters A, B, C and D respectively.

Additionally, some dives can be started in a flying position. The body is kept straight with the arms extended to the side, and the regular dive position is assumed at about half the dive.

Difficulty is rated according to the Degree of Difficulty of the dives. Some divers may find pike easier in a flip than tuck, and most find straight the easiest in a front/back dive, although it is still rated the most difficult because of the risk of overrotation.

Diving in Kazakhstan

Summer 1947, Kazakhstan divers took part for the first time in the All-Union Student Competitions in Lviv.

In 1957, delegation from Kazakhstan took part for the first time in the USSR Spartakiade in Riga: A. Zhdanov, Ya. Semenov, Yu. Zhilenko, L. Vorobyeva, G. Mikheeva, A. Skiba, S, Zhadanov, N. Suhin.